Contact:

Phone: 255-5105

Office: 193 Grumman Hall

Photographic study of liquid droplet collision dynamics

If you like working with the latest in digital or film photography and want to photographically capture fluid structures in a state of deformation that can lead to striking if not beautiful forms, this project is for you.

We have an interest in the collision dynamics of water droplets on non-flat surfaces. We developed a simple-to-use flash photographic method that allows us to essentially ‘freeze’ the collision of a water droplet at various stages of its deformation. Currently, our interest is examining water droplet collision onto steel cylinders ranging in diameter from under 1mm to 1 cm. Lately, we have been using a digital camera to record the collision process. The camera pixel count is about 1MP. We want to examine use of a new 6MP camera to improve images.

Impingement onto cylinders, angled surfaces, and even the head of a pin are possibilities we are considering for future work. Images are viewed instantly on a PC and hard copies made as necessary.

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